major work in progress after climate damage

The storms and high tides at the beginning of the year have considerably damaged the Vélodyssée, the path that runs along the Atlantic coast. In Saint-Palais-sur-mer, near Royan, major works are underway to rehabilitate this road that has become impassable.

The Vélodyssée is a cycle path which extends from northern Brittany to the Basque Coast and runs along the Atlantic coast. 1,300 kilometers of road frequented by more than 3 million cyclists each year.

The goal is that the Vélodyssée will be reestablished this summer.

Nicolas Mirat

Works manager

However, the storms and high tides at the start of the year have considerably damaged the track, particularly in the Pays Royannais where major work is underway on a portion of the route. Nicolas Mirat is works supervisor on the site: “We are currently building a temporary cycle path 350 metres long and three metres wide with a limestone sandblasting finish. The aim is that the Vélodyssée will be restored this summer.”

But bad weather and marine erosion made it impossible to restore the track to its original route. It was therefore necessary to move it and quickly redevelop what had until now been a forest road. Jean Michel Laloue is a planning and management technician at the Conservatoire du littoral: “We know that we are in an emergency situation. There, it’s for two or three years. »

This work is indeed a temporary solution. Because, even if redeveloped, this new portion of the Vélodyssée in Saint-Palais-sur-mer is on hold. This is confirmed by the studies carried out here on the evolution of the coastline by 2050. Clémentine Guillaud works at the Royan Atlantique Urban Community:

On average, 74% of our coastline is impacted, with areas that are up to 200 meters away from the coastline retreat. Here, we are looking at 100 meters by 2050.

Clémentine Guillaud

Head of the land and maritime environment department at CARA

The cliffs will also be affected with an estimated average retreat of 6 metres and all this erosion of the coastline has a cost for the communities. The Royan Atlantique Urban Community has estimated its action programme at 5 million euros by 2028.

Report by Pascal Foucaud and Pascal Simon :